Senior figures in Israel’s tourism industry sat down with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee this week for a strategic working session aimed at rebuilding the flow of American visitors to Israel and positioning the country as a top-tier global tourism destination.
The meeting brought together Eli Cohen, President of the Israel Hotel Association; Michael Izhakov, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism; David Fattal, Founder and Owner of the Fattal Hotel Group; Rami Levi, President of Catalyst Global Consulting Group; Yossi Fatael, CEO of the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association; Avi Jack, owner of the Drisco Hotel in Tel Aviv’s American Colony; Hagar Shiran, CEO of the Israel Hotel Association; and Romi Gorodisky, Director of the Israel Tourism Industry Coordination Office.
The session was convened under the Israel Tourism Recovery Forum, a platform uniting government officials, hoteliers, airlines, tour operators, academics and international partners to chart a path forward for the industry. The Forum’s stated goal is to make Israel a global model for how tourism can drive national recovery while deepening people-to-people ties with visiting nations.
Ambassador Huckabee received a detailed briefing on the obstacles and opportunities facing Israeli tourism as the sector works toward recovery. Participants laid out concrete steps for restoring inbound travel, rebuilding international confidence, and increasing visits from the United States, Israel’s largest source of foreign tourists. Huckabee responded by outlining ways the two countries can deepen tourism cooperation and pledged the U.S. Embassy’s continued involvement in efforts to bring more Americans to Israel.
Michael Izhakov pointed to expanded direct flights between the United States and Israel as a top priority, describing the Ministry of Tourism’s ongoing push to bring additional airlines back and open new routes. Air connectivity, he said, is central to speeding up the industry’s recovery.
David Fattal called tourism one of Israel’s most powerful economic engines and noted that the United States remains its most important source market. He said accelerating recovery depends on more direct flights, the return of international carriers, closer coordination with the American travel industry, and sustained investment in Israeli hospitality.
Yossi Fatael presented international safety data showing that Israel is, by objective measures, as safe as or safer than many major cities in Europe and North America. He said closing the gap between public perception and that reality is key to restoring traveler confidence. Participants also raised the need to keep travel advisories under regular review as conditions on the ground change.
Eli Cohen introduced one of the meeting’s most notable proposals: a national initiative, modeled on Birthright, that would bring young Evangelical Americans to Israel. The program would give participants a firsthand encounter with Israel’s biblical heritage, history, culture and people, with the goal of cultivating a new generation of committed advocates for the country.
Huckabee, who first visited Israel in the early 1970s and has returned repeatedly throughout his public career, drew on that history to reinforce the message that Israel is safer than global perception suggests.
“I will continue to be an ambassador for Israel wherever I go,” Huckabee said. “I will continue encouraging Americans to visit Israel, experience it firsthand, and discover the reality for themselves.”
The meeting closed with a shared commitment from the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Tourism and Israel’s tourism organizations to pursue joint initiatives that expand American travel to Israel, strengthen strategic partnerships, and reestablish Israel’s reputation as a safe and world-class destination.
